Law is a very competitive sector and applicants who want to become a solicitor need to show a high level of ability, experience and enthusiasm to be successful. This also applies to other legal professions, such as legal executives and paralegals. You can begin building your work experience at undergraduate level, whether you're studying law or not.
Important: While vacation internships with law firms are a key way of gaining practical legal experience and demonstrating your commitment to a career in law, any legal experience you can gain will be useful and support your applications for the SQE and training contracts.
Vacation schemes are mostly aimed at second year Law students or final year non-Law students. The main intake will be for Summer placements, but some firms offer Winter and Spring schemes, too. Law vacation schemes tend to run for one or two weeks. Many large firms use them to recruit for their training contracts. The big deadline for Summer schemes is 31 January, but look out for different deadlines. Winter and Spring schemes often have deadlines in October.
Competitions are an excellent opportunity to develop your skills, work with your peers and receive mentoring or advice from professionals in the field:
Being aware of the latest developments and trends in business and commerce will help you to understand the factors that might affect your client's business and the implications of your legal advice.
Commercial awareness is a skill that you'll develop over time and it needs to be continually updated. You can begin developing your skills by following the news closely and keeping up to date with business reports.
Interviewers are likely to assess your commercial awareness skills and ask you about what you know about upcoming developments and changes that may affect their firm or clients.
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